An Unexpected Calm

Part 3

I obviously couldn’t follow my own advice, because ten minutes later, I was zoned out once again. My muscles were relaxed, and I loved that. At some point, I had leaned back on the grass. I stared up at the sky, occasionally glancing at the water my legs were in. I couldn’t stare at the water for too long though, because it was a particular shade of blue that brought up images of Perrie’s eyes. I didn’t want to think about Perrie right now. The water was relaxing me, and I loved it. I didn’t want angry thoughts of the blonde tainting my peaceful moment.

I was in a whole other world with my thoughts when suddenly the vines swishing behind me caught my attention. I straightened up immediately, hating myself for letting my guard down. I was injured and halfway in the water of a brook in an awkward position. There was no way in hell that I would be able to easily maneuver myself and prepare for a fight.

Regardless of that though, I knew I had to get up. I hastily and clumsily pulled my legs up from the water and swung them to the side, splashing water all over myself in the process. I used my hands to push myself up, and I instantly shot up to my feet, overestimating the amount of force I had used.

Let’s just say that I put way too much of my weight on my injured foot, which was bad because it was no longer wrapped. It didn’t have any cushioning whatsoever as I placed a lot of weight on it without warning. I let out an ear piercing scream and felt myself lose my balance.

“Fuck,” I screamed as I felt myself tip over, falling to the side. I honestly wouldn’t have had a problem ending up on the hard ground, but that wasn’t what was about to happen. Before I had time to recover or try to regain my balance, I went splashing into the brook.

The brook wasn’t deep, and I soon felt myself hit the bottom. It hurt a lot. I had hit it at a weird angle, and my back would probably bruise from the contact.

I tried to peer through the semi clear water in an attempt to see who had entered my home, but all I could make out was the rough shape of a form. I just prayed that it wasn’t a zombie because I would be a goner if it was. Fuck Perrie for leaving me vulnerable and alone and basically getting me into this situation in the first place.

Before I had time to gather my thoughts and resurface, I saw two hands plunge under the water and then I felt them wrap around the collar of my shirt. I reached to their wrists and tried to pry them off of me, but they were strong. They were probably going to keep me under here and drown me. I couldn’t believe that after all of this time of surviving, this is how it was going to end. God, I hate Perrie so fucking much.

To my surprise though, the hands ended up pulling me up and out of the water. I gasped for air and coughed up some water that I had accidentally swallowed. My eyes were still blurred from keeping them open under the water, so everything looked fuzzy and I could only make out vague shapes.

I felt the person, I’m guessing they’re a person because a zombie wouldn’t be this generous, pull me a short distance away from the brook. They were strong, really strong. Then, they laid me down on my back and pushed all of my wet hair out of my face.

“Jade, are you alright?”

I knew it was Perrie. I would be able to recognize that voice anytime and anywhere. I felt myself relax instantly knowing that it was Perrie that had entered. I wouldn’t have to worry about any intruders, plus I was just so much safer with Perrie looking after me.

But then I remembered how Perrie had abandoned me for a little, and her little surprise reappearance is what got me into this whole mess. I straightened up into a sitting position, and shoved away the towel Perrie was using to dry me off.

“Of course I’m not alright! You fucking left me! You left me to fend for myself!” I blinked a couple of times, finally getting all of the water out of my eyes. Shit, Perrie looked really hot right now, but I pushed that to the back of my mind because I was mad at her, and I wanted to stay mad at her.